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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11136 |
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| _version_ | 1866909026387755008 |
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| author | Berenguer, Martí Erdmenger, Johanna Evans, Nick Fan, Wanxiang Vasel, Florian |
| author_facet | Berenguer, Martí Erdmenger, Johanna Evans, Nick Fan, Wanxiang Vasel, Florian |
| contents | We revisit the holographic description of the thermal first order phase transition of N=4 SYM compactified on a spatial circle. At the transition, the dominant bulk saddle exchanges between a geometry with a compact spatial circle and one with a compact Euclidean time circle. We construct a one-parameter family of Euclidean geometries that describes the unstable branch of the transition, completing the swallow-tail structure of the free energy. Although these configurations are thermodynamically unstable, they provide a continuous interpolation between the confining soliton and the deconfined black hole phases. Using probe fundamental strings, we show that the theory remains confining along the unstable branch, with a string tension that decreases smoothly and vanishes only in the black hole limit. Introducing fundamental matter via probe D5-branes, we find that chiral symmetry breaking follows the same pattern: the condensate decreases continuously and switches off precisely where confinement disappears. We discuss the implications for the confinement and chiral symmetry breaking mechanisms at large Nc. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_11136 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Confinement and chiral symmetry breaking in holography: a smooth switch-off Berenguer, Martí Erdmenger, Johanna Evans, Nick Fan, Wanxiang Vasel, Florian High Energy Physics - Theory We revisit the holographic description of the thermal first order phase transition of N=4 SYM compactified on a spatial circle. At the transition, the dominant bulk saddle exchanges between a geometry with a compact spatial circle and one with a compact Euclidean time circle. We construct a one-parameter family of Euclidean geometries that describes the unstable branch of the transition, completing the swallow-tail structure of the free energy. Although these configurations are thermodynamically unstable, they provide a continuous interpolation between the confining soliton and the deconfined black hole phases. Using probe fundamental strings, we show that the theory remains confining along the unstable branch, with a string tension that decreases smoothly and vanishes only in the black hole limit. Introducing fundamental matter via probe D5-branes, we find that chiral symmetry breaking follows the same pattern: the condensate decreases continuously and switches off precisely where confinement disappears. We discuss the implications for the confinement and chiral symmetry breaking mechanisms at large Nc. |
| title | Confinement and chiral symmetry breaking in holography: a smooth switch-off |
| topic | High Energy Physics - Theory |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11136 |